Things must be looking UP!

It's only fair since Eeyore got a voice yesterday, we should allow Tigger to have his say today.

Isn't the snow beautiful! There's something so peaceful about the big flakes falling outside my window. I used to sit in my bedroom at home at night, and watch the snowflakes fall through the light of the back porch spotlight. I loved that sight. Today, the cupboard is almost bare, as is the till, but who cares! The snow is gorgeous!

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Back to the Drawing Board

Today I organized the toys. Most are toys that have 20-1,000,000 pieces. Therefore, they have been taking up space in about 25 different places in the house. A veritable olio of missing pieces, passing time, waiting to be reunited.

Greg was off today, and he took Anna-Jessie and Kepler out for the morning. What a gift that was -- as much as I love having the kids here all the time, having some prime daytime hours freed up gave me an opportunity to gather and sort the pieces. I'm still missing ONE Measure Up cup from one set, and EIGHT from the other set. I thought I looked in every container of "stuff" in this house, but I must have overlooked a few spots.

Finally, the monkey is back in the puzzle, and the puzzle is complete.

And you wonder why I haven't been blogging? I think January and February are just hard months -- so gray, so cold, sometimes snowy and slushy. Months into the school year, but months left to go. I'm still here, just hunkered down, waiting for the winter to turn to spring.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

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Had to Get Tough Today; OR Further Adventures in Homeschooling

I do not like AP Spanish. I do not like AP Spanish. I do not like AP Spanish.

Without identifying it by name, I would like to mention that one particular school taught me a hard lesson today.

NEVER MIND that this school's platform does not work on a Mac and they didn't tell me that. NEVER MIND that they did not assign my student classes until after the entire first, important week of school had passed by. NEVER MIND that they told me something completely untrue, and distressingly so at that, in December. NEVER MIND ALL THAT.

Fact is, in education, as in life, we don't always get to have all the facts, nor are we always treated fairly.

The untrue thing had the effect of taking some pressure off of me, back in December. I didn't find out its falseness until today. TODAY it has some permanent implications. In December, I would have had a choice to make at that time that is no longer a possibility.

This is all really enigmatic and mysterious, I know, but the consequences are not really mine to share. All I can say is, it was a tough situation, and I did the best I could to shape the conditions to be favorable, and although I could not make them favorable, I was thankful to have been able to handle the situation with relative grace.

Just another one of the many blessings in my life.

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2009 Meme

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? MET BONO.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Haven't made these for many years -- they just don't seem to be useful to me. However, I do think it would be excellent to start something at the beginning of the year and continue to do it through the end of the year (like maybe exercise on a daily basis).

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Not this year.

4. Did anyone close to you die? My father, January 14.

5. What countries did you visit? No foreign countries. Just traveled to Des Moines, Chicago, Raleigh, and Norman.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? The opportunity to express myself musically.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? January 14th - my dad died; September 12 - Chicago U2 concert; October 3 -Raleigh U2 concert, I met Bono; October 18 - Norman U2 concert; December 25-26 - I read Donald Miller's book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Traveling to 3 U2 concerts.

9. What was your biggest failure? Probably the whole puppy thing.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? No.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Tickets to U2 concert in Chicago.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Anyone who made any kind of a positive step in their life.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and disgusted? The Congress of the United States of America

14. Where did most of your money go? Foodstuffs.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? U2 concerts, meeting friends at concerts, and U2

16. What song will always remind you of 2009? Unknown Caller, Miracle Drug

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? not thinner
c) richer or poorer? richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? laughing

19. What do you wish you'd done less of? frowning

20. How will you be spending New Year's Eve? family traditions focusing on Greg's birthday and looking back/looking forward

21. Did you fall in love in 2009? Yes.

22. How many one-night stands? Right. Stupid question.

23. What was your favorite TV program? Only thing I watched this year was NFL Football.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Don't hate anyone at all.

25. What was the best book you read? Donald Miller's A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

26. What was your greatest musical discovery? U2 How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb; Snow Patrol; Jupiter One; Crossroads music

27. What did you want and get? I had wanted to meet Bono for many years and I got to.

28. What did you want and not get? Wii

29. What was your favorite film of this year? UP

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? Flew home from the concert in Raleigh where I had met Bono.

31.What one thing would have made your year measurably more satisfying? The opportunity to express myself musically, either with my flute or my voice.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? Find something I love and then wear it a LOT.

33. What kept you sane? Weekends away singing and dancing with new friends at U2 concerts.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Bono

35. What political issue stirred you the most? The Health Care issue

36. Who did you miss? My beloved father.

37. Who was the best new person you met? Bono, Robert, Cle, Stefan, Doug, Craig, Daniel, Phil

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009. Music is the thing that makes my heart sing.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. I could never take a chance, on losing love to find romance.

(thanks to DollyMama for this meme.)

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We Had Ourselves a Merry LITTLE Christmas

Kepler was delighted with his festive noisemakers, just like I thought he would be!

This Christmas was a little different than some Christmases past. Our two main sources of Christmas money had either dried up completely or dried out significantly. Indeed, the only source still producing didn't show up until December 19. Until that point, I had no idea how we were going to do Christmas this year. Being that uncertain was very weird. It has been years since we've had any trouble buying Christmas gifts. Work bonuses have been given every year on the first Friday of December, just in time for a jolly Christmas, but the economy saw to it that the bonuses disappeared this year.

I tried to prepare the kids that things would be a little different this year, and I worried about it day and night. At best, Christmas is always a source of stress for me as I try to balance all the juggling balls called "materialism," "clutter," "buying for someone who has everything and can buy anything they don't already have," and, of course, the one I am best at, "GUILT."

I have one child whose love language must surely be receiving gifts, and he dearly loves the Christmas bonanza. So, for him, after we had opened all the gifts, I needed to snuggle with him on the love seat and help him process his disappointment. He was so sad, but he remembered all the things I had told him ahead of time about fewer gifts, but no less love, and about how to be grateful in the face of some disappointment. He felt better after we talked, and then he enjoyed his new Scrubs DVD while I went back to bed for awhile.

The second round of disappointment for him came when everyone else started posting their Christmas gifts on Facebook. Wow, iMacs, iphones, ipods, expensive cameras; some of his friends received even more than one from that list. I was very proud of him though as he acknowledged his disappointment but again remembered to focus on being thankful for what he has been given, and to acknowledge that the love of his family is pretty wonderful.

It made my day to hear this particular boy tell me that he thinks this is our best Christmas ever. I agreed, and I'm not sure why. But, even though it was small, it really was one of the best ever. I hope yours was, too.

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GET. THIS.

Just to clarify, this post has nothing to do with the value and/or benefits of public school, or really anything about the pros and cons.

I met with a local high school guidance counselor this morning just to explore what it would take for Joel to take a class or classes at the high school during second semester. She gave me great information and I came home armed with everything I need to be able to make a decision.

I asked about homeschool classes, and what kind of documentation is required for the credits to transfer to a public high school. Here is her answer:

"The homeschool student must take and pass the public school final exam for the same course in order to show that they have mastered the material in the public school course."

Wowza. Presumably, and she confirmed this, not too many students are able to do this.

This means, in Joel's case, that for him to receive credit for Physics, Chemistry, Algebra 1, Geometry, Spanish 2 and 3, and American History, he would have to take SEVEN public school finals to receive credit for those classes. What student do you know that could do that, even if they did well in the class? Seems like the nature of the beast is that kids learn it and then forget it.

Hey, I get it that this is the public school's policy and I'm fine with that. Just felt a little bit like some Seattle fishmonger slapped me in the face with a halibut and then tweaked my nose with a lobster claw. Seems like it's easier to get into college after homeschooling than it is to get into high school! I found out this morning that once you get to high school, the chasm between homeschooling and public school has widened considerably. Interesting. Certainly makes a case for staying the current course.

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Just Thinking about Christmas

I've heard quite a few sermons and messages about Christmas over the years. This morning at Crossroads, Brian talked about the value that each of us have based on what someone was willing to pay for us -- we are so valuable to God. Christmas is about him sending Jesus to us to demonstrate his care.

At the end of the service we sang O, Holy Night. Verse 3 follows.

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

At the end of the service, Brian spoke of the light that came into the world. He took a candle and lit the candles of several others. Each person lit the candle of a person next to them. And it occurred to me. THAT'S the way the gospel of Christ is spread -- sharing the light with another person.

And when the light is received, we are ready to learn to love one another, and to share his gospel of peace. What a beautiful message. Greg and the kids and I were in the top balcony this morning so we had a high vantage point to see the light spreading through the auditorium. A little candle isn't flashy and doesn't give off a lot of light, but 300 candles make it quite possible to see in the dark. But each candle was necessary, even mine.

Merry Christmas.

'

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